Sunday, March 21, 2010

"Racism was here but they didn't take it seriously and they said that I was crazy."

Final Solution:Slavery is Back in Effect- Sister Souljah

It was a typical Spring afternoon at the local Wake County "Up Against the Wall" Mart and African American budget hunters were busy trying to catch a deal on the latest Jay Z cd or the recent Tyler Perry dvd release when, suddenly, it happened. A voice came blaring over the store intercom announcing that "slavery was back in effect." On cue, store security began to herd the shocked black customers to the paddy wagons waiting outside the store aided by a bunch of good ol' boys, who just happened to be in the sports section rifle hunting at the time...

Last week, the Associated Press circulated a story about some goober who got on the intercom at a New Jersey Wal-mart and told all the black customers to leave the store. While this was ,obviously, the act of some bored trickster, the fact that the story made national headlines is alarming. While the above sci-fi type, futuristic scenario was based on a 1992 video, "Final Solution:Slavery is Back in Effect" by Hip Hop raptavist, Sister Souljah, the present climate of racial hate and hostility makes such an actual warning possible if not probable.

The best example could be the Tea Party protest, supposedly ,over the health care bill in Washington DC, last Saturday, where some members of the angry pseudo lynch mob of thousands of mostly white people, allegedly, hocked loogies at African American congressmen and yelled out "the N word."

Locally, one has to look no further than Wake County NC and the raging controversy over plans to end the school system's diversity program, hence, re-segregating the public schools. The head of the school board was caught on tape, allegedly, referring to the desegregation protesters as "animals."

While some would, naively, write these incidents off as "Democracy in action" in actuality, they are blatant cases of, at best, vigilante voter vengeance or ,at worst, militant mob rule. Although most folks on the Right would ,vehemently, deny it, there has been a steady push in this country, especially since the Obama presidential win, to "turn back the hands of time" in American history to when Negroes knew their place."

America stands on the verge of a racist, Right Wing revolution and issues such as health care reform and anti-busing legislation are merely part of a smoke screen to hide their true intention; to reduce African Americans to second class citizenship.

We have to call these recent events what they are; temper tantrums and attempts at disenfranchisement. I don' think that the Tea Party people in DC are concerned about my terminally sick neighbour or the Wake County segregationists are any more concerned about the black kids in the 'hood than the teenager in NJ who, allegedly, pulled that prank at Wal-Mart.

These are power moves. Disgruntled people flexing their collective muscles and preparing to roll over anyone who gets in their way.

The main strategy of the Tea Party and the rest of the Conservatives has not changed since Reconstruction. As Dr. Lerone Bennett wrote in his book, "Before the Mayflower," concentrate on local leaders." He also recorded "one by one local leaders were killed, driven out of state or compromised."

This is why the March 23 Wake County School Board vote will have major implications not only in North Carolina but across the country.

At the National Tea Party Convention, last Black History Month, a top NC Conservative bragged on C-Span how, in Wake County , the Republicans were able to "take back the school board " and now they are going to get rid of "diversity and busing"

Talk about birds of a feather flocking together.

There is an old saying that if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a cup of milk. If the Conservatives in Wake County are successful, Tuesday, they are going to try to take the whole dairy!

Unfortunately while the Right Wing soccer moms were busy holding weekend war room strategy sessions with their hubbies in preparation for the upcoming Wake County diversity vote, black women were getting their hair and nails done for the "All Star Celebrity Women's Empowerment After Party."

Sometimes our priorities are just jacked up.

Maybe we don't believe that disenfranchisement can creep up like a thief in the night. Perhaps, we don't believe that there are a lot of folks in this country who believe that African Americans are only good for pickin' cotton and shinin' shoes. Maybe we think life is easier if we don't believe...

That is until the morning you turn on conservative WRDU Rush Radio and hear the hosts send out the clandestine, cryptic message that "it's coon hunting season again, Yeee Hawww!"

As Malcolm X warned back in 1965, "You're in a society that is just as capable of building gas ovens for black people as Hitler's society was."

Back during the 1800's, our ancestors used to sing songs like "Wade in the Water" or "Hush, Somebody's Callin' My Name," to alert runaway slaves that the slave catchers were a-comin'.

However, since this is the Hip Hop Era, the moment that you hear your favorite Beyonce song preempted by Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," know that it's on!

So the solution for black people?

As Sister Souljah, already told ya, the "brain is the weapon."

Put down your ghetto street romance novel and pick up a black history book. Log off of Facebook and log on to No Warning Shots Fired.com. Turn off BET and turn on CNN.

And for Heaven's sake, pull your darn pants up 'cause you are either gonna have to fight or flee when the slave catcher's hounds are bitin' at your heels.

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com"No Warning Shots Fired.com, going where other columnists fear to tread."

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Rapper 50 Cent was once notorious for being able to push a rival's CD release date back. If Cam'ron or some other Hip Hop star planned to release a CD in March. 50 could make sure that their fans would not be bobbin' their heads to the latest beat until Labor Day.

I thought about this when I searched, unsuccessfully, for Tavis Smiley's "We Count: Need for a Black Agenda" Conference that was supposed to air on C-Span today and remind the Prez that a whole bunch of black votes voted for him, many of whom feel rejected.

I went to Smiley's website, "Tavis Talks," and saw a message that announced that because of the Health Care debate, the C-Span will tape the event and play it back on March 29th.

A couple of things wrong with that rationale.

First, the Health Care debate is tomorrow. I doubt if the conference would have interrupted coverage too much.

Secondly, C-Span has three channels. You would think that they could bump some shows on C-Span 2 to show the event live. Also, what about the other networks, CNN, MSNBC , BET and even Fox News, which I would think would jump at the chance to hear black folks bashing Obama.

Lastly, it's not like C-Span was bumping a Hip Hop awards show. It would have been good to show America that collective black thought is not monolithic.

Back during the Booker T Washington age in the late 19th-early 20th century, Washington was known to manipulate the media to silence his critics like WEB DuBois. I am not suggesting that somebody from Rev. Al Sharpton's (Smiley's chief rival for black leadership supremacy) camp pulled a Booker T but history points to the fact that tactics like this have been used to silence opposing voices.

More likely, since this is perhaps the most important weekend during the Obama administration, the producers at C-Span didn't think black political idealism was important at this stage in American history. Or maybe they did not want to upset the hegemony of dominant white thought.

Perhaps they feel that black people can only discuss basketball and Hip Hop?

Who knows?

Funny, I don't hear about anyone trying to push back the NCAA basketball tournament...

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

If you see a black dude in the car next to you swerving down Highway 40 banging his fist on the dashboard while cussin' at the top of his lungs, he probably was channel surfing between K97.5 (the area Hip Hop Station) and Foxy 107 (the R@B station) and stumbled upon the WRDU's (106.1)"Morning Rush Morning Show" with hosts KC O'dea and Carmen Connors, the Right Wings new dynamic duo.http://wrdu.com/pages/morningrush.html

See, while black folks in this part of NC are busy bobbin' their heads to Jay Z playing on the Russ Parr Morning Show or hee hawing over a Jay Anthony Brown funny courtesy of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Carolina conservative bigots are holding war room strategy sessions; planning a hostile take back of their country.

Besides the usual, "help, please save me...the coloreds are taking over the country !" mumbo jumbo, O'Dea and Connors make a point of bashing black leaders. There favorite targets being, of course, President Barack Obama,whom they, unaffectionately , call "P.BO" and now the head of the NC NAACP, Rev. William Barber, who they get a kick out of calling "Rev. Soul Glow."

This morning they thought one of their news stories about a bunch of Nazi yahoos in Detroit who put racist messages in Easter eggs at a church's children's Easter egg hunt was darn hilarious.

Of course, the excuse that Connors gave was the usual hypothetical example that white folks often parrot...

"If a black DJ had done it..."

Wrong Carmen...

Black radio stations are too afraid of losing their hip white listeners to risk offending them and secondly, they know that their sponsors would have a fit; unlike Right Wing Radio sponsors who feel that the more racist a talk show, the better for business. Especially since you have millions of Jim Bob's out there who still haven't gotten over the fact that if the president of the US of A puts on a bow tie and a pair of black spectacles, he would bare a striking resemblance to Malcolm X (in the right light.)

Most importantly, the folks who call into the station with their "fried chicken" jokes aren't listening for entertainment. They are waiting for their marching orders from the "Grand Dragons of morning drama."

As we enter into the first election cycle since WRDU (owned by the media giant Clear Channel) changed it's format to Right Wing Talk, don't be surprised if the station plays a major role in galvanizing their Conservative Storm Troopers to head to the polls decked out in white bed sheets and carrying Confederate flags while whistling , "I wish I was in Dixie."

Why aren't more black folks outraged?

I don't know.

Maybe they're scared that they might wake up in the middle of the night to the smell of crosses burning in their flower beds.

Or maybe the strategy is "ignore them and they'll go away.

Don't count on it.

Like Malcolm X said, keep playin' and they'll be building those gas ovens.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

"You don't know my kind in your world. Fairly soon time will tell."Taking it to the Streets-The Doobie Brothers

A few years back, a Kentucky newspaper issued a rather weak apology for, virtually, ignoring the whole Civil Rights Era.

"Oh, we missed the most important moment in modern history..."

"Our bad."

I'm not sure about their rationale for taking a chill pill on a whole decade of bloodshed, murder and mayhem but it probably had something to do with not wanting to rock the boat by disturbing the status quo. Far be it for the press to break up the fine institution of master-slave hegemony.

Unfortunately, this is not much different than the attitude of the Triangle area newspapers in 2010.

Although, we are, perhaps, on the verge of a culture clash that will make the whole Civil Rights period look like the First St. Baptist Church Saturday night bingo game, the newspapers seem content to give us the same rehashed cookie cutter type commentary in regards to racism, class-ism and sexism.

However, this cannot be said for Conservative talk radio, as the airwaves are dominated by commentators spewing racist, right wing venom on a daily basis.

The local press would have us to believe that this constant provocation is not affecting the collective mood of black folks. It boggles the mind that the media don't realize that African Americans who ,unfortunately, stumble upon Raleigh's new Rush Radio morning show, might be a little irritated by their "tired of lazy minorities takin' away the rights of hard workin' white citizens" party line ,which sounds ,suspiciously, like it was taken straight out of the KKK recruiting manual.

In his book, "The Soul of Black Folks," WEB Du Bois wrote that "the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line." In the 21st century, this is a line that cannot simply be deleted from an editor's laptop by pressing a button, especially with the Right Wingers raining down racist rants like an April thunderstorm .

The press's down playing of the black perspective on racial issues may well have had its start over 40 years ago.

Following the racial unrest of the mid 1960's, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Illinois Governor Otto Kerner to head a commission to search for the "roots of rising militancy in our country." One of the criticisms of the media was that they were guilty of "giving disproportionate amounts of time to emotional events and militant leaders." So the implication was clear, silence the black voices of descent as they may stir up the natives.

The result of which is what we are stuck with today, the segregation of thoughts and ideas. In other words, apathetic media apartheid.

According to Dr. Devin Fergus in his book "Liberalism, Black Power and the Making of American Politics," "Americans spend their daily lives with people who think just like they do." He goes on to borrow a quote from Bill Bishop and Robert Cushing warning that it is "an ideological inbreeding that is creating a dangerous distance between Americans who hold opposing views."

And what is the destiny of the denial of divergent views ?

One shudders to think.

History has taught us that those in power will only be awakened from their daydreams of plausible denial by the blaring of fire alarms and the screams of fire engine sirens.

Therefore, change must start, now!

Why, we are nothing more than hypocrites if we, constantly ,challenge our youth to be free thinkers and to rise above mediocrity but do not challenge the members of the press to do the same and give us more than mundane, milquetoast malarkey passing as hard hitting journalism.

We cannot wait for the media gatekeepers to make the change. The revolution must be sparked by those citizens who are tired of listening to the same old songs sung by the local press.

We must let the high level corporate execs know that a newspaper that does not challenge us to face the difficult issues of the day, head on and face forward, is not even fit to line bird cages.

Perhaps the media gatekeepers believe the stereotypes that nothing good can come out of the 'hood accept gangsta rappers and basketball players. Maybe they think that the average black dude lacks the intellectual ability to form a political opinion.

I started "No Warning Shots Fired" to be the voice of those who are not willing to wait for their opinions to validated like a parking stub or cosigned like someone with bad credit trying to buy a Mercedes Benz.

There are those will want to shoot the messenger. Those who will consider this the ranting of a member of a small fringe element in this country.

The gamble is yours.

As James Baldwin said in "The Fire Next Time," take no one's word for anything , including mine, but trust your own experience."

And I share the experiences not of the status quo, but of those from the 'hood to the historically black college campus. From the bus stop to the barbershop. The No Warning Shots Fired Movement is for the people.

And there are more like me coming. Despite having an African American in the White House, the hatred that produced the 60's Civil Rights/Black Power movement is 10 times worse today.

Every insult leveled at black folks, whether it be Dan Rather 's recent Obama "watermelon selling" comment or last week's WRDU morning show's berating of the head of the NC NAACP, gives birth to another James Baldwin, another Eldredge Cleaver; another Malcolm X.

As the Doobies sang back in the 70's, you will find us everywhere "Wherever people live together, tied in poverty's despair."

Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com. He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com"No Warning Shots Fired.com. Join the Media Revolution."

Saturday, March 6, 2010

My first brush with racism occurred when I was five years old. I was playing with a little white girl at a beach in White Lake, NC when her grandmother motioned for her to get out of the water. "Sally" came back a few minutes later to inform me that she was not allowed to play with (insert "N word" here), as the old hag sat mean muggin' me under her beach umbrella. In retrospect, at least Granny was honest about her feelings, which is more than I can be say about the folks in Wake County.

There has been a big brouhaha brewing in Wake County over the last year. Seems like some folks (mostly white) are fighting for "community schools", while other folks (mostly black) are condemning it as an attempt at re-segregation. The conflict came to a boiling point last week when school board chairman, Ron Margiotta , made a statement about "animals let out of cages," allegedly referring to the anti-segregation protesters.

Of course, most of the good hearted Wake County citizens are saying that there is nothing racist about the anti-busing efforts, they are merely trying to protect the ecosystem by conserving gas. Also, even though Margiotta's statement is committed to the Youtube viral universe, what he really said was " the way those Tar Heels are playing is outrageous."

I'm not sure what ticks me off the most, the Wake County School Board's racial insensitivity or their attempts to insult my intelligence.

I'm sure that Margiotta and the rest of his homies on the school board know that "community schools" is the modern day PC translation of "no Blacks allowed."

Then again, I bet ol' Ron has never been dissed at the beach by an old lady while wearing swimming trunks decorated with dolphins and starfish.

Let's keep it real. For many of the community schools folks in Wake County, it's not really about Lil' Molly sitting next to Tyrone Jackson in homeroom but the idea of her bringing him home for cookies and milk; the age old fear of miscegenation. So, the whole argument is not really about education but the fear of contracting "colored cooties."

Desegregation of public schools has been a controversial issue in this country since the end of the Civil War.

According to Harold Cruse in his book, "Plural but Equal," during the 1880's there was an unsuccessful attempt to pass a bill by Senator Henry Blair that would have required the government to provide $77 million dollars to be spent "equally for the education of all children, without distinction of race or color, " making "separate but equal" a reality.

In 1954, the Supreme Court rendered its Brown vs the Board of Education decision that put in motion the process of integrating school systems across the United States.

It can be argued that if the Blair Bill would have passed, desegregation would not have even been necessary. However, during that period, some black folks believed that integration was some sort of magic elixir to cure all of the black community''s ills. As if, by some sort of telekinetic osmosis black kids would become smarter by simply being in the same classroom with white kids.

It must be noted that not all African Americans have favored integration. According to Dr. Noliwe Rooks in her book, "White Money, Black Power," in 1968, African Americans in the Ocean Hill-Brownsville section of Brooklyn attempted their own version of community control of schools courtesy of a $59,000 grant from the Ford foundation.

Also, black leaders such as Haki Madhubuti have long championed the cause of the creation of independent black educational institutions.

All of these efforts have one thing in common; better educational opportunities for black children.

It must be understood that even within an integrated school system, there still can be educational segregation in the classroom. As the late black psychologist, Dr. Bobby Wright wrote in his essay, "The Black Child: A Destination in Jeopardy," "even sitting in the same classroom, white children will be 'educated' and black children will be 'trained.' "

Many in the black community would have no problem with community schools if it meant that they would be funded, equally. Unfortunately, there is a well founded concern that the lion's share of the resources would go to the more affluent, predominately white schools.

As the controversy rages on, we must be careful not to give black children the false impression that the ultimate goal of desegregation is to earn the love and respect of the white parents of Wake County. It is about securing the necessary resources to insure that they obtain a first class education so they won't be treated as second class citizens; nothing more, nothing less.

Our ultimate goal must be to teach black children how to love and respect themselves and to instill in them the self confidence to know that their self worth does not have to be validated by white America.

No child should feel the way I did on that hot summer day back in 1972.

A boy and his beach ball, standing in the middle of a lake wondering what was wrong with him.

Courtesy of No Warning Shots Fired.com. For more information contact (919) 451-8283 or info@nowarningshotsfired.com"No Warning Shots Fired.com, bringing you the issues that the mainstream media are afraid to touch."

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

A few years back I got into a deep discussion with an older gentleman regarding integration. The man asked me how did I know that most black folks wanted integration since we never held a plebiscite to discuss the issue.

Good Question.

I don't think that Grandma ever got a call from the Gallop Poll people asking about her opinion about integration.

I reflected on this conversation while watching the news coverage of the big brouhaha over busing in Wake County.

Seems like some of the white folks over Raleigh way don't like their little angels going to school with the Boyz in tha Hood.

I can see them now kicking rocks all the way through the Board of Education parking lot cussin' that darn Brown vs the Board of education decision.

We'll I've got news for you Sparky, integration hasn't worked out too well for black folks either! For the most part attempts at integration have only been a continuance of the same old master -slave relationship, only in closer proximity. Also, it has been written that because of integration, not only did we lose our cultural identity but many black teachers and principals lost their jobs after the Brown vs Board of education decision.

Some argue that the Brown decision wasn't really necessary in the first place to insure that black children received a proper education.

According to Harold Cruse in his book, "Plural but Equal," during the 1880's there was an attempt to pass a bill by Senator Henry Blair that would have required the government to provide $77 million dollars to be spent "equally for the education of all children, without distinction of race or color."

This would have made the whole Brown vs the Board of education thing, unnecessary. Unfortunately, then as well as now, there are black folks that feel black kids being in the same room with white kids will make them smarter.

Although, it is rarely discussed, there has always been a segment of the black community that thought integration was a bad idea, going as far back Martin Delaney in the mid 1800's. Black leaders such as Marcus Garvey championed black self reliance and Malcolm X once talked about the foolishness of trying to "integrate into a burning house."

Also, black leaders such as Haki Madhubuti have dedicated their lives to promoting the necessity of developing independent black institutions.

Let's face it. At the end of the day the Wake County fiasco is not about kids sitting together in math class, it is the age old fear of racial miscegenation.

That's right sex.

Dr. McGillicutty just can't bear the thought of his little Molly bringing Tyrone Jackson home for some milk and cookies.

I, for one, have never been the type of dude that was in favor of trying to make folks like me.

If you don't like me, I didn't ask you to...

I am in favor of what Harold Cruse referred to as "pluralism." That is when people of different nationalities can come together as equals without compromising their own cultural identities.

But in order to do that black folks must first teach black children to love themselves and not seek affirmation from white America.

Until then, we'll just keep on looking for love in all the wrong places.

Paul Scott

Paul Scott

Paul Scott is a minister, writer, lecturer and activist. He has been a guest on talk shows around the world including Hannity and Colmes (Fox News), Fox News Live, Nachman (MSNBC), Hot 97 (NY), The Bev. Smith Show, Mancow Morning Show, Mike Medved Show, Russ Parr Morning Show, Mo in the Midday WVON (Chicago), Tom Pope Show (DC) Newstalk 1010 (Toronto) and SAfm (South Africa) discussing the issues of Rap,Race,Religion and Revolution. He has been interviewed by many newspapers including the New York Times, the USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. Scott has lectured at universities across the country including West Virginia University, Clemson, Winston Salem State University and Illinois Wesleyan University. Scott was ordained a Baptist minister in 1998 he later went on to coin the phrase Afrikan Liberation Theology, which is "Black Liberation Theology for the 21st century." After forming the New Righteous Movement, Scott formed the Messianic Afrikan Nation in 2003. For more information contact (984) 377-2064 info@nowarningshotsfired.com or Twitter @NWSF